The surprise decision of the resigning President of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Santer, to stand for the European Parliament means that he will now almost certainly be among those interviewing his own successor from the very benches that brought him down.
Mr Santer's nomination by Luxembourg's Social Christian Party was announced last night by the Commission in Brussels. His placement by the party leader and Luxembourg Prime Minister, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, at the top of the party's list means that he is certain to be elected.
It also represents a substantial vote of confidence by his own government in the disgraced President who has been forced to resign by a report of experts nominated by the Parliament which found on Monday that commissioners had lost control of the administration.
Mr Santer said on Tuesday the report had depicted an image of "generalised irresponsibility" in the commission. "That image was wrong and I don't accept the tone of the conclusions, which were shocking," he said. It is a verdict now endorsed with a nice touch of irony by the head of the government he once led.
As an MEP Mr Santer will almost certainly be offered a senior parliamentary or group position in the European People's Party, the group to which Fine Gael is affiliated and which is led by another former prime minister, the Belgian Mr Wilfried Martens.
The Commission statement last night quoted Mr Santer as saying that he was honoured to accept the nomination. "I hope to continue with the commitment to Europe that I have always had," he said.
